As Senator Bernie Sanders tries to continue his political career from Burlington City Hall, where he served as mayor, to the White House where he hopes to serve as president, the newly announced candidate will need a lot of support.

“$100 million,” is what Garrison Nelson, UVM political science professor, says Sen. Bernie Sanders needs to be a formidable candidate for president.

“I think we're all excited. It's a chance for his platform and Vermont to get some national attention,” said David Oppenheimer, president of the UVM Democrats club.

Sanders' decision to run for the White House has Vermonters excited for the new point of view he’ll likely bring to the race, but true support for the Independent senator turned Democratic presidential candidate could be harder to come by.

“Some of his things are on the socialist fringe. Not completely, but if you're going to go all the way, you better find a stronger following than I think you'll find at the national level,” said Chris Haffner from Richmond.

One saving grace is that Sanders is already a national political figure, said Nelson, having served more than 20 years as either a U.S. representative or senator, but the question is whether voters will support him financially as a presidential candidate.

Jennine Lanouette posted on Twitter “Elated that Bernie Sanders is running for president! Was at UVM when he was the mayor of Burlington. Just tell me where to donate.”

Nelson said major funding for Sanders will depend on how viable a candidate he's seen as by donors, and that test likely won't come until the debates.

”Some big-foot liberal Democrats are going, waiting to see how well Bernie does, and if he does well, they may enter the race and may nudge him out,” said Nelson.